SOLAR ENERGY MODELLING FOR AGRIVOLTAIC SYSTEMS IN MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE

Agrivoltaics (AV) co-locates photovoltaics and crops to relieve land-use competition while advancing clean-energy targets. This study quantifies AV performance in Naples (Mediterranean climate) for six layouts: southtilted “shed” (35°) and vertical East–West bifacial arrays at 10/20/30 m spacing (0.65/0.35/0.25 MWp ha⁻¹). Hourly PV yield is computed using PVGIS time series with De Soto–Faiman modelling; ground irradiance informs crop light sufficiency. Annual landbased energy reaches 0.938/0.505/0.361 GWh ha⁻¹ (shed 10/20/30 m) and 0.916/0.502/0.362 GWh ha⁻¹ (vertical), with specific yield 1408–1449 MWh MWp⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Tomato (Solanum lycopersium, 4.0 kWh m⁻² day⁻¹) achieves annual light-sufficient area of 62/84/89 % (shed) and 66/88/92 % (vertical). Land-equivalent ratio (LER) exceeds unity for all cases, peaking at 1.095 (vertical-20 m). Results indicate that moderate/large spacings, particularly vertical East–West, balance energy and light supply, enhancing land productivity under Naples’ irradiance.